A Path Paved In Ice: An Alternate Path
by ArkAngel1179
Summary: Whoever said that a single change from ice and iron couldn't shape a world from darkness, and from that a path paved in ice. -Mutations in one's DNA is named "Evolution", and yet, most evolution is actually inhibiting until certain circumstances arise...


**So, how do I say this...? Best way of putting it, I suppose, is to say that this is almost purely a One-Shot. By way of miracle, this story gets to be semi-high demand for continuation, then by all means I will write more. Until that point though I'll refrain.**

 **Forgive my silence on my other stories. I wrote almost all of those stories during High School and I've forgotten quite a lot about the plot lines I had developed with the coming of work, College, a new social life. Yeah, excuses. But that's life.**

 **So, without further ado:**

 **Enjoy the show!**

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Naruto hissed in pain and gripped his teeth tight. A deep laceration carved like a knife into his shoulder. He wrapped and rewrapped the bandage to keep it clean, applied alcohol, endured every spike of pain that came after. Still, infection settled. He sighed, scratching his head with his good arm before walking on scabs of clothes into the bathroom for the fifth-or-so time that day. God, he was a mess. He blinked at the mirror. Sixteen years. One moment he was twelve again. Now, sixteen. Where did the time go? He didn't know. Naruto eyed the long gash serrated along the right jawline, noting where stubble should have grown. His left cheek mustered a five o'clock shadow yet no luck where the scar resided.

"Gotta clean yourself up, Naruto." Razor out, he clicked it on.

Naruto shafted the stubble and made himself as matching as a scar would allow. Followed every step of his morning routine, A through B, all the way to 5. Naruto stopped, popped the brush out of his mouth, shrugged, and brushed some more to B. Shaving to brushing. Didn't remember when he switched, didn't care- didn't make much sense to him either.

Sucking in his lips, Naruto craned his head back, peering at his own clean-shaven jaw. The sharp angle of his jaw, just out of the fat-stage of childhood. He held his breath for no purpose other than to give his cheeks some life with manly blush. The vanity of it all. He eyed himself in the mirror and pointed at himself like an older sibling. "Shut the fuck up."

Yeah. He had issues. He talks to himself. Give him a break.

For the last twenty four hours, give or take, he spent enough time wallowing in bed, too prideful to seek help, wailing on the inside as his blood failed to coagulate. No where near enough to get lightheaded. Enough though to fuck his psyche up with doubt, and yeah, that worried the shit out of him. He didn't know why he did the shit he did. Medicine in the form of the Kyuubi's chakra wouldn't repair genetic impairment like Hemophilia. It just didn't work that way. Yet he'd spent all that time jerking himself off trying to stem the infection and stop the bleeding.

Whining, the skin tissue made slow, tedious progress repairing the damage.

Naruto scoffed piteously. His girlfriend shouldn't be the one to have to deal with his bullshit. Haku shouldn't have to be the one who fixes him like she always has to. Was it fair? Hell no. But now Naruto had to collect all the pieces he'd mashed together and let Haku mend the rest. Maybe, just maybe Haku would understand.

Despite the blood loss, he felt wry with accomplishment. No one else could say they'd been gouged by a bandits blade and survived with hemophilia for a full-blown twentyfour hours without medical intervention. Fuck, anyone who said otherwise, argumentum ad populum would not stop him.

Finished in the bathroom, he cradled his shoulder, popping open an energy drink, he drank smoothly, arguing between the throttled feeling ebbing his throat from carbonation to the terrible heart in his shoulder where the bandage ever so gently framed.

Naruto caped a black windbreaker over his shoulder, one arm through, with his bare chest on his bad side-it hurt less that Ravens flew in a flurry from his lower pectoral to collarbone. Black cargo pants for old times sake, last. Teeth clean, no stubble, clothes on. Give him a prize.

Konoha bustled as Naruto went to visit Haku. People busied themselves. Clothes strung high on lines, criss-crossing overhead, lights and signs jeered, the people ignored each other and him.

Gave Naruto conniptions.

He, who lived alone, was listless of children, and they him. Adults surely no better.

His usual route to Haku went as such: back alleys, Ichiraku Ramen-he never ate on the way, he valued his time there-Konoha Academy, the old pub, and Satoru's market. Not always in that order, keep that in mind.

When the sight of Haku's stand came to view, the woman herself sputtered at the sight of him. A bulked older man leaning on a staff confronted her. His breaths shaky and one good eye squinted.

"Have you found what you were looking for, sir?" sparing him a glance. Haku wore a typical apple green t-shirt and apron and cargo pants. The man held his gaze over her wares. An assortment of herbs and spices were displayed on saucers and he couldn't decide which. The prices were fair. Fresh by sight- and the smell? Better than the woman's next door.

"Yeah, yeah," he spoke lowly. He chewed on his cheek, like a cow chewing cud. "This one." He pointed. "This one." He pointed, again.

Haku stayed quiet. Her hands quick as she bagged the herbs in sizable bags, careful not to approach the man's hand which quivered as if he were on drugs.

"Lady, there a discount for a new regular customer? A discount for an elderly fellow?"

He hadn't looked it a moment ago but now the years piled on. He was almost doubled over. Wrinkles consumed his forehead. Haku just gave her practiced smile, remaining suitable and silent. Naruto snorted. He had made his way behind the counter to stand next to Haku before he noticed Haku's scathing stare striking a match on the old man's forehead.

He either ignored her gaze or a beetle crawled up his leg because the old man coughed into his fist awkwardly.

Haku cracked her knuckle under the counter. "Lavender and Cinnamon. Are those your choices, sir?"

"Excuse me but I don't think you understood quite right, young lady. Is there a, uh, discount for an older gentleman?"

Apparently, the older fellow hadn't taken the hint.

At this Haku glanced to Naruto and he noticed daggers were close to ripping the veil of her pupils and Naruto steered clear, looking anywhere but her hazel eyes. Why, oh, why was she looking at him. He wasn't just a hunk of meat to stare at, damn it!

"Your customer's that way, lady," he squirmed inwardly.

Outwardly, Naruto cringed, sewing his queer thoughts like stray cattle back in order. Psyche on the brink or not that spewed lack of control.

Haku turned back to her customer as he tapped his cane on the floor. "Young lady, I'm hard of hearing too. The Lavender and Cinnamon- oh why not-," the man hacked to himself, amused, "add in Ginger too. My nephew'll love the smell. And- just between you and I- these smell freshly picked from the fields."

Haku crossed her arms. "Regular price."

"Regular price." He sounded disappointed.

"Yes, normal price," there was a hint of venom in her voice, "they're cheaper than any of the other herbalist's stalls in the market, my boyfriend picks the herbs fresh. Now, if you think their discounts are better than my normal price than feel free to shop around." Somehow Haku's hand found purchase on Naruto's, twisting unnaturally to do so, mind you, she yanked him beside her. Presented and maybe a pinch indignant, Naruto pouted at the old timer.

"Good day," Haku said to the old man.

"Good day," Naruto repeated. He winced, biting his cheek, Naruto toughed it out like a champ.

The old man grumbled under his breath and left and Naruto sighed inwardly as payment lie safely in Haku's hand. Now, Haku yanked Naruto again, except this time, into a subtle kiss and gentle hug.

On another day, Naruto would've gouged his thumb a hundred times into old wounds if it meant a kiss like this, but now… it was still semi-fresh and thus it hurt like a cock.

"Easy there, Haku," he shimmied the bad side away, out of outright touching distance.

"Kyuubi's not healing like he usually is, is he?" she exclaimed, knowingly, before whirling him down to a backroom. Medicine and bandages sprawled all along the countertops with some ointments Naruto decided to not remember. Painful thing that was. The countertops were white and it smelled like a hospital room, syringes kept in a metal container on the wall, cabinets high up with square locks looping through the handles, and comfortably silent. Much too quiet for his liking.

He needed birds. Sunshine. Lofty flittering leaves and birds nesting.

Naruto hissed as some alcohol flushed his skin, his gauze peeked up.. "When did you get so good at handling creeps...?" White foam started to coalesce the wound close, just as the blood receded, Haku was already suturing him shut, "Easy there!"

Naruto cracked his right knuckles to distract himself. "Careful- soon you'll be the one collecting herbs and bodyguarding and I'll be fishing in some fat checks in your place."

"Someone has to; you or I; the money has to come from somewhere." Her gentle voice never ceased to draw him in. With or without gentle care, she clipped the stitching and replaced her tools-shortly after she closed shop with relative ease, ushering out any latent customers.

"So," she began, placing herself closely on his lap, wrapping him in her arms, "when, where, how, and... why?" she questioned, lowly. Her bangs brushed his temple. Easing him to her questions, estranging his doubt, settling his psyche, her almond eyes locked with his own.

"Yesterday afternoon, back from Shibuya, bandits, and I guess I looked richer than I am."

Without pause, Naruto wondered when exactly did Haku's eyes start to look like diamonds to him? Seriously, like what the hell? Her two eyes were powerful. Long gorgeous lashes, tantalizing irises, those things coveted him more than any drug that older gentleman was on.

"Then why are you hurt? " she kept going, before he could respond, "And no, bandits alone is not a valid answer. I want to know why you were hurt in the first place when you know damned well how to defend yourself."

Haku frowned, cupping his cheek in her hand. She kissed him again, short and chaste, tracing the birds on his chest in a line with her free index finger all the while.

Yeah, Naruto, answer her, he mocked cruelly to himself.

"I'm a hemophiliac in a Shinobi world with a Kyuubi beast inside my gut. That equates to about: shit happens," Naruto answered himself. Less intending for Haku as more for himself.

"Sarcasm helps no one. Not even you," Haku said. Bless her heart, Haku knew how fucked his mind was.

Naruto sighed, already feeling the effects of Haku's treatment. It still burned and he didn't expect it to stop hurting until well into the week. But, it comforted him to know that the blood was coagulating finally. Scabs form and he wont have to feel light headed.

"If I say I ran, but they caught me, would you believe me?"

"Is that the case?"

"No."

"...Then no."

Naruto groaned childishly, "Why not?!"

Haku struggled to keep from smiling like an idiot, keeping a placid state instead.

Naruto kissed her this time, wondering how he would explain. Haku didn't want how long he'd taken to get to her. No, his physical harm concerned her.

Fuck me, he bemoaned, shit's backwards. Wasn't it supposed to be the guy worrying about the girl getting maimed? In a chakraless world, possibly, but then that goes but ways, he knows for sure.

Naruto sighed. Get it over with quick and get it down. Go home. Lie together in bed. Rest. Maybe sex. Sex is nice. Haku quirked an eyebrow and he knew he definitely didn't deserve that type of fun right now. No sex. Cuddling can be healing.

"There was a lady being chased by three bandits in the forest in a clearing. She, uh, she tried to run towards the caravan I was riding with, the usual one, you know, with Itsuki and his girl, they can't see quite as far and were focused on the road, so I went alone to try and help."

Naruto sucked in his lips. Tasting the saliva, he wondered, not for the first time, whether he was fucked now. Could be by the looks of it. Then again...

"Naruto," she started and she pegged him with a glare.

"Haku."

"...Naruto..."

"Haku to infinity, bitch."

Silence.

Haku smiled.

Naruto stared at the hollow of her throat. He started timing her breathing. The lecture come yet?

"You're a moron."

Ah, there it is, like a long lost friend.

"I love you?"

"There's no question. Tomorrow though you're going to be getting me more rosemary. I'm out and Akira next door is itching for some wildflowers to spruce up her repertoire of bouquets."

Naruto saw the surmounting list with little trepidation, noting where those would be. Each of those were suspiciously close to home. The wind picked up and trickled into the backroom and she snuggled close to him, as if he were her personal furnace. Sneaky how she show's her love.

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 **Glad you made it to the end! If you skimmed this story and were wondering, if you read my other story, where's Tenten and Anko? Simple thing is, they're not in this fanfic. Whether they will be or not is entirely dependent on the quantity of people who like this story becomes. Yes, the story is cliché in it's own way but sometimes that's just the shit people need in their lives.**

 **So, for all my readers, old and new, please forgive me for my silence on updates and have a pleasant day!**

 **Any questions?**

 **PM or REVIEW.**

 **See you next update!**


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